Celebration

This evening we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday as well as Father's Day, both of which fall on the same day this year. My food friend, Suzanne, has an award-winning frosting recipe, Chocolate Caramel Ganache, that I've long wanted to try. When my MIL said she would like a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, I knew I had the opportunity I'd been seeking. I then remembered that Suzanne also has a fine recipe for tender yellow cake, another of hers on my to-do list. Perfect! And perfect they were. This cake was outstanding, truly delicious, especially the frosting. Gah! You make a chocolate caramel sauce which you stir into a ganache and then whip the whole thing. Divine.

And there's leftover chocolate caramel which, because we also tried this, is fabulous atop vanilla ice cream (get Talenti brand Vanilla Bean if you can find it; the best).

Because it's also important to actually eat dinner too, I made my Zucchini, Beef and Pistachio-Yogurt Casserole as well as a platter of Lemony Green Beans (the pictures are dreadful so use your imagination). We all dined well and are destined for early bedtimes tonight.

Lots of beach and sun today, a little bit of work done too. Home tomorrow or Friday and then back to it!